NKY Catholic school faces backlash after video of incident at Indigenous Peoples March surfaces

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Covington Catholic High School students surrounded, intimidated and chanted over Native Americans singing about indigenous peoples' strength and spirit, according to interviews with attendees of the inaugural Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, D.C.

The school and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington issued a joint statement Saturday afternoon after millions viewed videos of the imbroglio and hundreds if not thousands denounced the private, all-boys school. The school has traditionally sent students to D.C. for the annual March for Life.

The students' focus was largely centered on Nathan Phillips, an Omaha tribe elder, who rhythmically beat a drum as Nick Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High School student in a "Make America Great Again" cap, stood nearby and stared at him.

"I never interacted with this protestor," Sandmann said in a statement released Sunday night. "I did not speak to him. I did not make any hand gestures or other aggressive moves. To be honest, I was startled and confused as to why he had approached me. ...

"I believed that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to diffuse the situation."

Chase Iron Eyes, a spokesman for the Indigenous Peoples March and an attorney for the Lakota People's Law Project, said by phone Saturday that Phillips initially approached the students in an attempt to defuse the situation.

But he was quickly swarmed.

Iron Eyes did not see any adults among the students.

“It was getting ugly, and I was thinking: ‘I’ve got to find myself an exit out of this situation and finish my song at the Lincoln Memorial,’ ” Phillips told The Washington Post. “I started going that way, and that guy in the hat stood in my way and we were at an impasse. He just blocked my way and wouldn’t allow me to retreat.”

Sandmann said in his statement: "I never felt like I was blocking the Native American protestor. He did not make any attempt to go around me. It was clear to me that he had singled me out for a confrontation, although I am not sure why."

He tells Taitano and others that he heard chants of "build that wall, build that wall," from the students.

"This is indigenous lands. We're not supposed to have walls here. We never did for millennia, before anyone else came here, we never had walls, we never had a prison," he said. "We always took care of our elders, we took care of our children. ... We taught them right from wrong."

Laura Keener, the communications director with the Diocese of Covington, said about noon Saturday that the incident was regrettable.

About 4 p.m., the Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High issued a joint statement that read, in part:

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"We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general. ... We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.

"The matter is being investigated and we will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion."

Iron Eyes told The Enquirer that the inaugural march was intended in part to condemn the ongoing federal government shutdown. His wife has been working without pay as a clinical director on a reservation, and he spoke about the adverse effect on many indigenous people.

He also criticized President Donald Trump for "recently mocking our genocide" in a tweet he made about Bighorn and Wounded Knee and Trump's use of "Pocahontas," which Iron Eyes called a slur to indigenous women.

If Elizabeth Warren, often referred to by me as Pocahontas, did this commercial from Bighorn or Wounded Knee instead of her kitchen, with her husband dressed in full Indian garb, it would have been a smash! pic.twitter.com/D5KWr8EPan

Iron Eyes estimated about 50 young people accosted Phillips and about five other Native Americans performing a closing ceremony.

He also heard them chant "build the wall."

"I think they should be required to take Native American Studies 101," he said. "They should learn some true history of the original civilizers of this land. They are also denied their true history. These are kids, I was looking for an adult, where is the adult here?"

Another organizer of the Indigenous Peoples Movement, Darren Thompson, said in a statement that the incident is "emblematic of the state of our discourse in Trump’s America."

“It clearly demonstrates the validity of our concerns about the marginalization and disrespect of Indigenous peoples, and it shows that traditional knowledge is being ignored by those who should listen most closely," he said.

"The point is that because of the actions of people who live in Northern Kentucky, our region is being challenged again to examine our core identities, values, and beliefs," Meyer said. "No, we’re not perfect. More progress needs to be made, and we will continue to work diligently on making it. In the meantime, Covington is proud of being a welcoming city where bigotry, discrimination and hatred will not be tolerated."

Among the first journalists to identify Phillips, Vincent Schilling with Indian Country Today, said he met the elder at a ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery about two years ago.

Schilling, a Mohawk tribe member, said Phillips is a Vietnam veteran who has been the target of racial animosity in the past.

"As a Native American journalist, I find this to be one of the most egregious displays of naïve – I can’t even say naïve. It’s racism. It’s blatant racism," Schilling said.

A Fox affiliate in Detroit reported in 2015 that students lobbed racial slurs after Phillips told Eastern Michigan University students that their Native American-themed party didn't honor indigenous people.

"The guy has just been through a lot," Schilling said. "To see Mr. Phillips treated this way is an incalculable amount of disrespect, and it's absolutely unacceptable in Native culture.

This morning I was alarmed by circulating videos of young, Kentucky students taunting and harassing Native Americans at the Indigenous People’s March on the National Mall. #LoveNotHatepic.twitter.com/dsg3qLaNt9

Messages left with Covington Catholic Principal Bob Rowe and other school faculty members were not returned Saturday.

Phillips was singing a song about indigenous peoples' activism and autonomy, Iron Eyes said.

Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, one of the first two Native American congresswomen, tweeted about Phillips.

This Veteran put his life on the line for our country. The students’ display of blatant hate, disrespect, and intolerance is a signal of how common decency has decayed under this administration. Heartbreaking. https://t.co/NuPnYu9FP4

Covington Catholic's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts have been made private, preventing public view of those accounts' content.

The school has about 585 students and 42 teachers, according to the diocese. Tuition for the 2018-2019 school year was $7,950. According to the school's website, it was founded in 1925, and 213 students attended the March for Life in 2017.

The trip costs about $130 per student.

Schilling, the journalist, said he was saddened by the lack of surprise he felt by the treatment of Phillips.

"Because as a Native man, I’ve got it countless times myself I’ve been mocked, I’ve been teased, my culture has been ridiculed. This is just another brick in the wall."

In the video taken of Phillips after the incident, the Omaha elder looks down and sighs. He jokes about not sleeping for 24 hours.

"Maybe all of us that are on this Mall here tonight, he said, "our relatives seven generations (from now) will come back here and say something good happened here."

I dgaf if they are minors. They need to be identified. What school are they from? Who was chaperoning them? This is one of the most horrific displays of ignorance, racism & disrespect. My god. I feel sick. pic.twitter.com/oUsiVY5pNA